Midnight Seeker
by OrangeBatWings
Summary: Neji's been acting weird since their last mission. His teammates are begining to notice the changes. What does Sasuke have to do with this? NejiSasu. Yaoi.
1. Perspectives

Author's Note: Hi! I want to let everyone know that I hate the title, I'm going to change it as soon as my brain is found. THIS STORY IS YAOI (if you didn't read the summary…) and if you don't like it, go away and read whatever you prefer to read. The pairing is really obvious in the next one or two chapters? Reviews means cookies for you. Constructive criticism is nice.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO, Kishimoto does, I don't. Get it? Got it? Good.

**ONE: PERSPECTIVES**

Maybe, it was just her. Maybe Tenten was just imagining Neji _running _off right after Gai dismissed them, instead of staying to train. Maybe Neji really did wrap bandages around his neck everyday since the beginning and she just didn't notice it. Maybe Neji really was colder than she thought. Maybe he did go on those late-night strolls when the moon was full, and her window wasn't using genjutsu. Maybe Tenten was crazy.

She gave the mirror one last look, and headed out the door.

She nodded.

She was crazy.

Lee wasn't the most oblivious person in the world. Naruto was. Not Lee. For Lee noticed the changes in his teammate, Neji. Unlike Tenten, Lee knew he wasn't just imagining things. Neji _was _colder than usual. Neji _did_ run off after Gai dismissed them. Neji _did_ wear bandages on his neck, but only _after _their last B-rank mission, which really didn't live up to it's rank, Lee shrugged it off.

Maybe Neji was tired. Maybe he was just cranky. Maybe he had neck problems.

Yeah, that's what it was.

Lee sprinted out the door.

Neji would get better.

Gai, of course, noticed the changes in his long-haired student. Yes, the coldness, the unusual departure, the bandages. Mostly the bandages; they covered the boy's entire neck and it made the teacher wonder how the brunette could breathe. But Gai decided to stay on top of the subject. There was only one reason and one reason alone that could be the cause of all this; Neji had a girlfriend. Yes! Of course! Neji was colder towards everyone else because he was saving his kindness for his love. And he left as soon as possible, just to go see her. And Neji, that sly fox, wore the bandages to hide hickeys! It _all _made sense!

The teacher wiped away an imaginary tear as the wind picked up in the clearing.

His students were growing up!

Ah, youth…


	2. Curiosity Kills The Sasuke

A/N: Sorry the chapters are so short. :(

**TWO: Curiosity Kills The Sasuke**

Sasuke was having a great day.

No Sakura, no Naruto, no Kakashi to bother him. No annoying fan club to attempt to capture him for their impure pleasures because it was late and it was Sunday. Yes, Sunday.

The raven-haired avenger walked down the streets of Konoha, obviously on his way to the grocery store, because everyone needs food, even Sasuke.

He sauntered on into the store, swiftly picking up a shopping basket and making his way to the produce.

"Omigawd, Yuki! Did you hear?" an annoying voice asked from behind Sasuke; who was examining the tomatoes.

"Hear what!" ANOTHER annoying voice responded, making Sasuke's eye twitch as he continued to look for the perfect tomato.

"About the mysterious figure that appears near the academy at night?" Sasuke glared at the old, squishy tomato and set it back down. No, that one will simply not do.

"OMIGAWD REALLY! What's it look like!" The boy reached into the red pile again, pulling out another tomato. Yes. He had found the one.

"I heard he's tall, and has long hair that's tied up. I also heard that if you get in close enough… you can see red glowing eyes…"

Sasuke dropped his tomato.

'It can't be…' was what ran through his mind. Shaking his head, he picked up his tomato and set it gently in the basket. He continued his grocery shopping.

Sasuke ran a free hand through his hair, the other one occupied with two plastic bagfuls of food. He looked down the artificially-lighted street. In the far distance he could see the academy… but why did he care?

'No… That's definitely just a rumor…' Sasuke wasn't dumb; he didn't fall for such things. There was no mysterious figure at the academy. There was no way he was going there.

So there he was, walking around the outside of the academy. He needed a good walk anyways.

There was a rustle in the bushes, Sasuke stopped mid step.

"Who's there?" He demanded firmly, clutching the plastic bags tightly in his hands.

"Uchiha, w-what are you doing here!"


	3. Encounter

My friends tell me that you can't see this story. D: Gah.

I don't know what to put here, hehe.

Thanks for the two reviews:D

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**THREE: Encounter**

"H-Hyuuga?" Sasuke managed to blurt out, failing to act as if he wasn't surprised.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Neji spat, his expression hidden in the shadows; an evident hand covering the visible side of his neck. He was leaning against the dark trunk of a bulky tree.

"That's none of your business." The raven-haired Uchiha scoffed and looked away, taking a step forward, "What the hell are YOU doing here?"

Neji narrowed his pallid eyes, a definite glare at the younger boy, "Why should I tell you?"

Sasuke looked at Neji, noticing how his hair was tied, in a pony tail like the girls described. He was so sure that it was his brother, though…

"Listen, Hyuuga. You'd ought to find another loitering spot, people are spreading _rumors _about you." He placed a free hand on his hip, smirking in Neji's direction.

The older brunette raised his head up, his face now fully visible. Sasuke could see Neji's menacing glare, "What _kind _of rumors?"

Sasuke paused and answered in a monotone voice, "A mysterious figure with tied up hair and glowing red eyes."

Neji's eyes widened.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Uchiha." He looked away, hand still placed firmly on his neck. Neji paused, and a thought came to him, "Did you come here, in hopes to meet someone that fits that description?"

"Tch. Of course not." Sasuke locked eyes with Neji, secretly hoping that Neji wouldn't see through his lie. Silly Sasuke, Neji's not stupid!

"So who were you loo-" before the older boy could finish, he let out a shriek of pain. Sasuke took a step back, an eyebrow raised. What was going on? Maybe it was just a trick… Maybe Neji was trying to catch Sasuke off guard and engage in a fight with him right then so he could have the upper hand…

And sure enough…

Neji's face scrunched up more as the pain seemed to increase, the grip on his neck tightening. Sasuke swore he saw a flash of red somewhere on the Hyuuga boy, but shrugged it off. The older boy leaned over to hide his face, strands of dark brown covering it as beads of sweat scuttled down his face. His breathing picked up.

So maybe he wasn't faking it, thought Sasuke. What should he do now? Should he help him? Should he leave him be? Would helping him benefit Sasuke later? Oh, screw this.

Sasuke moved over to Neji and knelt down next to him, "I'll… go get help." Before he could get up, a hand lunged out and grasped his wrist.

"No, you won't." Neji ordered, between his gasps, he suddenly let go of the Uchiha's hand and looked up at him, "Leave."

"Listen, just because I offer help to you, doesn't mean you can order me around." Sasuke looked down at Neji, crossing his arms over his chest. He frowned.

"I said… Leave."

Sasuke didn't budge.

Neji's hand left his neck as he turned his head fully towards Sasuke to give him an irritated look. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls only something he can see and throws it to the ground. Smoke fills the air and the haze nullifies the younger boy's ability to see.

The Uchiha braced himself for impact, arms guarding his face, expecting to be attacked. When the smoke cleared, Neji had been nowhere to be found.

"What the…?"

Sasuke fell back onto his bed, releasing a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes and couldn't help but replay his encounter with Neji in his mind. His mind flooded with questions; what was he doing there? Why did he want him to leave? Did Neji's eyes really glow red? Why wasn't he wearing a shirt? The raven-haired boy absent-mindedly laid eyes on his window, and turned over to face the door.

Today was a good day, almost.

He didn't want to ruin it by thinking he saw red eyes in his window.


	4. Notice

**Uwahh! It's been so long. : I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. I tried to make the chapter longer, but eh... **

**Ah, well, enough of my mindless babbling.**

Disclaimer: I'm so poor, why would I own anything? ;;

FOUR: Notice

"OKAY EVERYONE!" Gai was his enthusiastic self today, "I've got to go see Godaime-sama, so I want you all to do three-hundred laps around Konoha while I'm gone!"

"HAI, GAI-SENSEI!" Lee was first to begin, leaving Tenten and Neji in his dust.

As Gai vanished in a puff of smoke, Tenten sighed and mumbled a few words. Neji stood in place, staring at the ground before him.

"Hey Neji, c'mon, let's go!" The dark-haired girl was already jogging, beckoning Neji to catch up with her. Neji simply obliged and went along side her, not saying anything.

--

Sasuke was having a not-so-good day.

The brunette mumbled several curses under his breath, still angry about Naruto spilling ramen all over him and Sakura never letting go of his now numb arm. It was only after lunch and when he just finished cleaning up that Kakashi ordered him to deliver a letter to the Hokage. Why couldn't the guy do it himself?

At least he was alone.

Sasuke decided to take his time going to the Hokage's office.

--

"What was it that you wanted to see me about, Tsunade-sama?" Gai asked cheerfully in front of the Godaime's desk. Tsunade, on the other hand, was not so cheerful. Her brow was furrowed; posture was slouched over with concerned and worry-stricken eyes. However Gai didn't seem to notice.

"Gai, I'm sure you remember the recent mission your students took nearby cloud country, correct?" the pale-haired woman folded her hands on the desk, eyes still lost in her thoughts.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." the jounin nodded.

"During the mission, did your students receive any injuries?"

"Just minor ones, cuts from some kunai…"

"Have you seen any changes in your students?"

--

Tenten was already on her one-hundred fifty-second lap, closing in on the meeting place which meant she would soon be on her one-hundred fifty-third lap. She wiped the thin sheen of sweat off her brow, eyes scanning everything before her. All the while her mind continued to wander.

"I wonder what lap Neji's on…" After a few more steps, Tenten reached the clearing and stopped in her tracks. Her chocolate eyes widened as her panting settled.

There he was, leaning against the tree with his eyes shut, sweating and out of breath.

Neji.

"N-Neji? Aren't you going to finish running your laps?" Tenten asked, failing to act composed. She darted over to his side with an anxious face and a jittery hand placed on his shoulder. He was nearly drenched in sweat.

"I've already… finished them…" the boy didn't bother to look in her direction, or open his eyes for that matter.

--

Sasuke's hand was mere centimeters from the doorknob, only to be halted and pushed away by a deep voice on the other side of the door.

"Hmm… well Neji has been acting a little strange lately, but…"

He froze. Sasuke was _sure_ that Neji was not himself a few nights before. If he compared all the other times he had seen and interacted with Neji, he knew _without a doubt_ that the Neji now was not the Neji from that everyone else knew. But why did Sasuke care? Why did it matter if Neji was acting different? Why did Sasuke seem so interested in finding out?

Sasuke cursed himself as he maneuvered to the hinge-side of the door, his body pressed firmly against the wall. He put an ear close to the door.

--

"Gai, wait. I have to tell you this before you go on, it's about where your students stayed."

"Huh?"

Tsunade reached one side of her desk and retrieved a paper. Her eyes scanned over the words swiftly, as she did, she began to speak.

"Nearby, there was said to be a prison break. One of the criminals was from a clan that extracted blood and chakra from others in order to gain more power. On usual circumstances, they would suck their victim dry. Though when a person is merely bitten, the ability would develop in that person. I was told that the criminal got a taste of blood, and there were no bodies found in the perimeter of where he was found."

"Ah, I see. So you were worried that one of my students were attacked! " Gai smiled his signature smile and gave the Hokage a thumbs up, "No need to worry about that! My students tell me everything!"

"Gai, please, watch your students closely this week. I believe not enough time has passed for the abilities to develop, if one of them were to be bitten." Tsunade stared at Gai with lost eyes, the ones that showed she was trapped in thought.

"Godaime-sama, can you tell me more… About these abilities?"

"Like I said before, if they were bitten, which is rare, they too would develop the ability to extract blood and chakra from others. There is a difference between the original owner and the one who was bitten," Tsunade paused, her brown eyes never wavering from her place of constant thought, "However, this is all I know. We're still doing research on it, and there's not much to go on."

"Ah, okay. I don't think there is anything _too_ strange about Neji. But I will report anything I see that is out of the ordinary." Gai stated seriously, Tsunade nodded to him, "Please inform me of any new information you find on these… abilities."

"I'll be sure to."

And with that, Gai departed in a cloud of smoke.

"Sasuke, I know you're out there. Come in."

The door slowly eased open, revealing the expressionless Sasuke. He ambled towards her desk, stopping only a foot away. Sasuke reached into his pocket and retrieved a letter, silently placing it on Tsunade's desk.

"I know you heard everything," the blonde took the letter, let her eyes skim over it, and placed it in a pile on her desk, "Of course I know that you wouldn't eavesdrop if you didn't know anything relating to this."

Sasuke looked away, his eyes narrowed, "Yeah."

"Tell me everything."

--

Team Gai stood idly by the forest, waiting for their sensei to return.

"Neji, I congratulate you on finishing your laps before me!" Lee gave Neji a smile with a thumbs up, his teeth dramatically sparkled as always. Neji was still somehow tired, and Tenten was still at his side, worrying. Though they all had the feeling that it was only a matter of time until…

POOF!

"Hello everyone! I'm back!"

--

"Ah… I see. If that's the case, then…" Tsunade paused, her eyes wandering around the room in search of an answer.

"Then what?" he replied, Tsunade's eyes snapped back to him with the thought in mind.

"I want you to watch over Hyuuga Neji."


	5. Official Stalker

I'm terribly sorry about the extremely long time I took to write so little. :X I won't make excuses; I've just been lazy and I know it. I'll do my best to get this story done at the least. I hope you enjoy what little I wrote in the middle of geometry class a month ago...

**FIVE: Official Stalker**

Sasuke always considered himself as asexual; he was attracted to nothing. As a child, his wandering around the house had led him to traumatization when he walked in on his parents doing something quite odd. Fan girls often threw themselves at him; it made him exceedingly queasy. Females were nothing but annoyances and walking baby factories with a dash of trouble. Males were competition in everything, they did nothing but motivate him to gain more experience. Sometimes they were amusing. Just sometimes.

So the raven-haired boy found no shame or embarrassment while he watched Neji shower from the comfort of a tree branch. Sasuke was taught to conceal his presence on the previous day by Tsunade; there should be no sign of his being, even with Neji's byakugan.

It was early morning; the azure sky was slowly brightening with complements of neutral gold and tangerine. There were no clouds today, Sasuke was glad. He hated clouds. He reached into the depths of his back pouch and brandished a banana, which was his excuse for breakfast. As he began to eat, he also took mental notes of Neji's bare appearance. Steam surrounded the descending water that whimsically made its way over and all around his lean, but adequately defined muscle structure. Clumps of dark, wet locks clung to the boy's pale neck and nearly obscured it. Surprisingly, Sasuke found no visible scars on the shinobi's body despite its pale complexion and daily training. Though, when Neji turned to rinse, Sasuke noticed a pair of tiny holes (or small identical bruises?) on the midsection of the boy's neck. Sasuke scanned the mark and engraved the entire image in his mind. There was no shame in remembering the image of Neji in a shower with odd marks on his collar; it was all for the sake of the mission. Oh, the money he would bring home afterwards…

The brunette stalker simply let the banana peel drop from his hands, with no intention of picking it up. He was focused on nothing but the mission. It wasn't littering, the peel would decompose anyways. Sasuke could care less about the process of decomposition, though.

Neji shut the water off. Sasuke watched the dark haired prodigy (though Sasuke knew he, himself, was the only prodigy ever) step out of the shower from the tiny square window. He grabs a towel from a nearby closet; he dries himself, and wraps the soft cloth around his waist. Sasuke observes Neji as the boy stands in front of the mirror. He leans in close to his reflection and tilts his head to see his neck. There, the mirror gives Sasuke a clear view of the visually healing marks on the boy's neck. The brunette scowls at his reflection and the mark and opens a compartment beneath his sink counter. He brandishes a roll of bandages. Neji wraps it around his neck, covering on and around the imperfection. He continued to bandage the other usual areas of his body; legs and arms. Neji then continues to get dressed, not bothering to do anything with his hair. He saunters out of the room and Sasuke disappears into the shadows of the early morn.

Sasuke was getting bored. But his time to monitor the Hyuuga was coming to a close end. Neji would have to go to his team very soon and Sasuke would go to report the Godaime.

He watched Neji eat dango for breakfast, which was something Sasuke found quite odd. Back when they were younger, Sasuke always saw that Neji enjoyed bitter foods and never touched anything sweet. Chouji and Naruto always hoover'd all the sweets before snack time, anyways. Sasuke shrugged it off, Neji much have changed tastes over the years. Whatever. It wasn't important; many others probably put several put several tablespoons of sugar in their tea as well as Neji did.

Neji walked toward the door and Sasuke disappeared once again.


End file.
